Wednesday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey held a 40-minute teleconference to address the conference’s plans amidst the recent coronavirus pandemic. Thursday, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne took his turn, talking with the media about where things stand from the university’s perspective.

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During the 30-minute teleconference, Byrne was asked much of the same questions Sankey addressed the day before. The biggest of such topics concerned the start of the 2020 football season and whether it will be affected.

“I still think we’re too early to really have strong opinions about that,” Byrne said. “All of our focus has to be on the health and wellness of everybody involved, and if we as a country do our very best to minimize the spread of the virus, that gives us the best opportunity to return to normal as a country as soon as possible.”

The SEC has already canceled its spring football games as well as its pro days and pushed back the start of spring practice until April 15 at the earliest. Wednesday, Sankey did not portray much confidence at the possibility of holding spring practice, stating “that window’s pretty narrow.” Thursday, Byrne echoed that sentiment.

“It still has not officially been canceled. But I think the reality is, if you look at the campuses in our conference and most of the campuses across the country, most of them are moving toward online education for the rest of the semester,” he said. “So I think the chances aren’t great. We haven’t made that final determination at this point.”

Alabama was scheduled to begin its spring practice last Friday and didn’t announce the decision to postpone training until hours before the first workout was to be held. Byrne said he held multiple discussions with head coach Nick Saban before ultimately deciding that the delay was inevitable.

“We knew there were multiple scenarios that were being discussed. I think we knew as we got closer, the chances were going to be that we were not going to practice,” Byrne said. “And what we just tried to do is prepare for different scenarios with that. But when the time came that practice was not going to happen, Coach was supportive, and I really appreciated his leadership with that particular subject, and overall he’s been pretty good.”

Alabama is set to kick off its season against Southern California in Arlington, Texas on Sept. 5. If the 2020 season is to begin as scheduled, teams will need at least some form of practice to adequately prepare their players. Thursday, Byrne said he has spoken with Saban about the minimum necessities needed for that process. However, as of now, those discussions are still at an early stage.

Byrne said that he has not been made aware of any Alabama athletes who have tested positive for coronavirus. He was less clear about whether or not athletes have been tested, stating that the university has communicated extensively with student-athletes and coaches about steps they need to take to prevent the disease and the signs and symptoms to be aware of.

Byrne said Alabama will also take precautions in terms of its facilities with limited access to all of the buildings. Wednesday, Alabama announced it is moving its classes online for the remainder of the semester.

Alabama’s spring break started this week and is set to continue through March 30. With student-athletes dispersed across the nation, Byrne was asked what type of assistance the university’s personal trainers could provide. While teams are unable to schedule organized activities, training staff can still be reached over the phone to answer questions and provided recommendations.

“We have tried to provide support where appropriate with our student-athletes with the questions they have,” Byrne said. “They can call in and talk to our strength and conditioning coaches. They can talk about programs that we’re doing, but right now there are not a lot of gyms that are open. So our kids are just doing things on their own at their homes, and that’s what our coaches have tried to offer where they want questions and planning where it’s appropriate.”

Fortunately for the Alabama football team, it was able to find a speedy replacement for departing strength coach Scott Cochran as it brought in Indiana’s David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea to head of its strength and conditioning staff at the beginning of the month.

Byrne was also asked about the effects the pandemic will have on the construction of Bryant-Denny Stadium which is undergoing a $106 million renovation.

“The construction continues,” Byrne said. “We’re on schedule. It’s been a wet spring, but I can tell you we’ve had our regular conversations with our general contractor on this to make sure that they’re taking necessary steps during this new reality we’re in.”

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